The exact number of Cubans killed by the Castro regime remains unknown, but estimates range from 2,000 to 33,000, with a mid range of 15,000 — in a country of only 7 million people. -Tyler O'Neil

Fidel Castro jailed political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin during the Great Terror. He murdered more Cubans in his first three years in power than Hitler murdered Germans during his first six.

Alone among world leaders, Castro came to within inches of igniting a global nuclear holocaust. -The Longest Romance: The Mainstream Media and Fidel Castro, Humberto Fontova

A new book on the hidden life of Fidel Castro claims the Cuban leader lived in luxury on his own private island, which included a turtle farm... However, in the new book La Vie Cachée de Fidel Castro (Fidel Castro's Hidden Life), a former bodyguard says Castro never renounced 'capitalist comforts'... Juan Reinaldo Sánchez, who worked for the leader for 17 years and now lives in America, says that the vast majority of his countrymen weren't aware of their leader's lavish lifestyle, which is in stark comparison to normal Cubans.

“Way back in, what was it, 1961, they invaded Cuba and everybody was totally convinced that Castro was the worst guy in the world and all of the Cuban people were going to rise up in rebellion against Fidel Castro.

They forgot that he educated their kids, gave their kids healthcare, totally transformed the society.”

Castro’s “struggle will carry on with every young idealist,” said Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, one of the many Latin American leftists who celebrated the leader as a kind of spiritual and political “father.”

“We join the progressive forces of the world in mourning and celebrating the life of a nationalist and anti-imperialist who defended those who are exploited,” said Zuma.

All political organizing outside the PCC [Partido Comunista de Cuba] is illegal, and independent campaigning is not permitted.

Political dissent, whether spoken or written, is a punishable offense, and dissidents are systematically harassed, detained, physically assaulted, and frequently sentenced to years of imprisonment for seemingly minor infractions.

The regime has called on its neighborhood-watch groups, known as Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, to strengthen vigilance against “antisocial behavior,” a euphemism for opposition activity.

This has led to the use of “acts of repudiation,” or supposedly spontaneous mob attacks, to intimidate and silence political dissidents.

In your cable of October 27 you proposed that we be the first to carry out a nuclear strike against the enemy's territory. Naturally you understand where that would lead us. It would not be a simple strike, but the start of a thermonuclear world war.

Dear Comrade Fidel Castro, I find your proposal to be wrong, even though I understand your reasons.

The Russian-made jeep carrying the ashes of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro broke down in the middle of his funeral procession on Saturday, forcing soldiers to push the vehicle until it could be repaired.

Is it any wonder that 1 million refugees fled to the United States? But that was unacceptable too. Castro's government tried to prevent the emigration at all costs, killing those trying to flee. On July 13, 1994, Castro's forces killed 37 would-be escapees, most of them children and their mothers, in the infamous Tugboat Massacre. -Tyler O'Neil

Few will actively defend his tyranny, of course, but the old "you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs," still gets trotted out from time to time. "Yes, but where is the omelette?" as George Orwell once asked. -Liam Hehir